Classification of abilities in psychology. General characteristics of human abilities

All people are different, it’s hard not to notice. But they differ not only in appearance or character traits, but also in their abilities. And we all, to be honest, no, no, let’s sigh enviously - well, there are capable and talented people, and why don’t we have such talents? Abilities are one of the significant, valuable qualities, because success, fame, and material well-being are associated with them. What is this, maybe a gift from God, and someone has it, but someone is deprived? Let's figure out whether it's worth complaining and envying or whether it's better to gain these abilities and be proud of yourself.

Definition of the term “ability” in psychology

In psychology, abilities are properties of the human psyche, determined by the special development of functional organs and psychological structures, which allow him to master new knowledge, skills and abilities in a specific field of activity with particular speed and success.
For people who have certain abilities (in a specific field of activity), the speed of mastering new knowledge and skills is several times higher than the effectiveness of development in this area for those people who do not have such abilities.

For example, if a child has mathematical abilities (ease of arithmetic calculations, good memory, pronounced logical thinking), it is much easier for him to study mathematics and solve complex problems, unlike a child who does not have these abilities.

To successfully master and carry out different types of activities, different abilities are required. The speed and quality of acquiring new knowledge, skills and abilities in the relevant field of activity depends on them.

Inclinations are the natural basis of abilities

Abilities are, in psychology, personality traits that determine the speed and quality of mastering knowledge, skills and abilities. The initial form of future abilities are inclinations, which are hereditary anatomical and physiological characteristics of the body, which can manifest themselves in the form of the following properties of the nervous system:

Special perception of artistic forms, sounds or colors (the ability to recognize or analyze them, quickly memorize or reproduce them).
High sensitivity of the nervous system.
The pursuit of knowledge, high activity in public relations.
Good memory and logical thinking, ability to analyze or generalize.

The difference between inclinations and abilities is that they are not specific and cannot specifically relate to any one activity or to any particular ability. The same inclinations can be used in the formation of different abilities in different fields of activity.

For example, excellent eyesight and innate attentiveness can become part of the abilities of an artist or professional archer. Different types of activities require certain abilities, which in turn can be based on the inclinations they require.

The makings of the visual system can be used in activities that require good vision (fine arts, sports). The inclinations of the speech apparatus can be successfully used in a field that requires a high level of its development (oratory, linguistics).

Inclinations are the basic “bricks” on which a person’s abilities and all professional activities are built. They begin to appear in preschool and early school age. During this period, the functional development of areas of the brain responsible for the coordination of the organs of movement, the logic of thinking, as well as the improvement of various analyzers occurs:

vision;
hearing;
touch.

The discovered inclinations in the child must be developed in relation to the area of activity that interests him. As a result, the formation of abilities will take place more effectively and meet the necessary requirements of this activity.

Origin of abilities and their structure

There are 2 theories of the origin of human abilities. The theory of the emergence of abilities through the transfer of genetic information from parent to child and the theory of the development of abilities as a result of training, upbringing and the influence of the external social environment on a person.

The genetic theory of the emergence of abilities is based on well-known facts, when the children of outstanding scientists or artists also became scientists or achieved success in the relevant field of art. For example, a very common occurrence was the discovery of appropriate musical abilities in children of musicians (Mozart, Haydn).

Another striking example is the emergence of a whole dynasty of musicians and composers among the descendants of the famous great composer Johann Sebastian Bach.

The theory of the emergence of abilities under the influence of training and factors of external social influence is based on a number of experiments that confirm the development of almost any abilities, in the case of correct and systematic training of a person by experienced teachers, as well as as a result of proper upbringing in early childhood, when the main anatomical and physiological components are formed child's psyche.

As a result of the coexistence of these theories, modern psychology accepts them equally. The formation of abilities is influenced by both heredity and environmental factors, which can compensate for the lack of any innate abilities or, on the contrary, suspend their development.

The basic structure of abilities (in a general sense) consists of the following parts:

Information part (knowledge about the world and society, scientific knowledge, knowledge about ways to carry out certain actions in various types of activities).
The psychophysical part (experience in carrying out certain actions in the field of activity being mastered, expressed in specific skills and abilities).
The creative part (the ability and willingness to find new types of solutions to any problems, the ability to create more effective skills and abilities).
The emotional part (the ability to form positive emotions in relation to the activity being carried out, the ability to use emotions to more effectively master skills).

The presence of the above elements in the structure of abilities allows a person to effectively develop his abilities in any field of activity.

The development of individual elements of the ability structure affects the overall progress of the development of the ability itself, which in turn leads to a further strengthening of the development of its individual parts. Thus, the development of an ability is a mutual cyclical process involving the ability itself and its individual parts.

The structure of the ability of any specific activity, in addition to the general structure, will include a number of additional qualities that a person performing this activity must have.

For example, the structure of abilities that a person engaged in musical activity must have includes such elements as a sense of rhythm, an ear for music, and musical memory.

With regard to literary activity, in addition to the general structure of abilities, it should include such additional elements as clear functioning of the speech apparatus, a developed sense of aesthetics, the need for self-expression and fantasy.

Each specific type of activity has its own structure of abilities. A person carrying out any type of activity must have the appropriate abilities.

Inclinations are the natural basis of abilities

Abilities have a complex structure. Among the qualities and properties of a person, which are united by the concept of “ability,” there are natural ones (congenital or hereditary). This natural basis of abilities is called inclinations. These include primarily psychophysiological and anatomical-physiological features.

For example, the type of higher nervous activity or temperament - in a number of professions people with a sanguine temperament are more successful, and in others - phlegmatic or choleric people. And the sensitivity of a melancholic person can make him a great artist or poet.
The inclinations also include innate features of the sensory system. For example, a person with a high sensitivity to color discrimination can become a good colorist, and a person with an ear for music can become a musician.
In order to become a long-distance runner, you need a large lung capacity and endurance, and to play basketball, you need to be tall.

But the key word “can” determines the role of inclinations in a person’s life. Inclinations do not predetermine a person’s life path and may not develop into abilities, but remain “ballast”. On the other hand, the ability to perform certain activities can be developed even with weak natural prerequisites, if there is a desire. It will just take more effort and time, and not everyone needs it. For example, it has now been proven that with due persistence, anyone can learn to draw.

Inclinations are prerequisites, a kind of potential that still needs to be developed to the level of ability. And in this development, the main role is played by the social factor - the environment in which the personality is formed, the social environment, incentives and motives.

Social factor

Along with inclinations, abilities include a set of skills, abilities and knowledge related to specific activities. And only if they are present will the makings work. The formation of abilities includes a number of processes that are in one way or another related to the interaction of society and people.

Development of potential, which is only possible through activity. That is, to become a musician, you need to learn to play at least one musical instrument. To become a writer, you must not only be able to write, but also know the laws of style, composition, etc. But most importantly, you must engage in the activity for which you want to develop abilities. They just won’t fall like manna from heaven.
Any ability is a complex and, in addition to inclinations, includes many personal qualities. Thus, for abilities in the field of artistic creativity, the development of imaginative thinking, imagination, and intuition is important, and for success in the exact sciences, abstract logical thinking is required.
Mastering an activity is a prerequisite for developing abilities. This involves training in techniques, methods, and techniques of activity. If a person with good abilities as a swimmer does not learn to swim, then these abilities will never manifest themselves.

Thus, abilities are the result of the development of all spheres of personality. Moreover, it is possible to develop abilities and transform potential inclinations into real mastery at any age. Although it is best, of course, to begin the development process in childhood, when the psyche is more flexible, and perception is lively and vivid, and any activity is mastered in a playful form.

Proper upbringing and sensitivity to the needs and interests of a child are a guarantee that he will grow up to be a capable person. And you need to pay close attention to the kids. The fact is that there is one interesting mental phenomenon that can suggest the presence of inclinations and the possibility of developing abilities for a certain type of activity. These are inclinations.

What are tendencies?

We approach different types of activities differently - we categorically do not like something, we would like to do something, but there is not enough time, and we always find time for some activities even at the expense of our own rest or household chores.

There are types of activities that a person has a penchant for, that is, a literally irresistible desire to engage in them. He strives for this, overcoming obstacles, making a lot of effort to master the activity he likes, enjoying the process itself. Psychologists believe that aptitudes are an indicator of a person’s potential abilities for an activity he or she likes. And if there are no inclinations, and the activities do not bring pleasure, and the result is uninteresting, then most likely it will not be possible to develop abilities.
True, along with true inclinations there are also imaginary ones. They most often appear under the influence of a feeling of envy, when a person likes the result of the work of others so much that he also wants to learn the same thing, for example, to draw, or achieve success in sports, publish his own book, etc.

Imaginary inclinations can arise as a result of imitation. In childhood, it often happens that a child goes to a sports section or art school after his friend, without experiencing any interest in the activity itself. Or girls often want to become singers, imitating their favorite actress.

It is not difficult to distinguish imaginary inclinations from true ones. Mastering the activity in this case is not enjoyable, and the very first failures lead to loss of interest.

Creative abilities of the individual

Many people mistakenly believe that creative abilities include only drawing, writing and music. However, this is absolutely false. Since the development of an individual’s creative abilities is closely interconnected with the individual’s perception of the world as a whole and his sense of himself in it.

The highest function of the psyche, reflecting reality, is creativity. With the help of such abilities, an image of an object that does not exist at that moment or that never existed at all is developed. At an early age, the foundations of creativity are laid in a child, which can manifest themselves in the formation of the ability to conceive and implement it, in the ability to combine their ideas and knowledge, in the sincerity of conveying feelings. The development of children's creative abilities occurs in the process of various activities, for example, games, drawing, modeling, etc.

The individual characteristics of a subject that determine the individual’s success in performing any creative activity are called creative abilities. They represent a combination of many qualities.

Many famous scientific figures in psychology combine creativity with thinking characteristics. Guilford (an American psychologist) believes that creative individuals are characterized by divergent thinking.

People with divergent thinking, when searching for a solution to a problem, do not focus all their efforts on establishing a single correct answer, but look for various solutions in accordance with all possible directions and consider many options. The basis of creative thinking is divergent thinking. Creative thinking is characterized by speed, flexibility, originality and completeness.

A. Luk identifies several types of creative abilities: finding a problem where others do not notice it; collapsing mental activity, while transforming several concepts into one; using the skills that have been acquired in finding solutions from one problem to another; perception of reality as a whole, and not splitting it into parts; ease of finding associations with distant concepts, as well as the ability to provide the necessary information at a certain moment; choose one of the alternative solutions to the problem before checking it; show flexibility of thinking; introduce new information into an existing knowledge system; see things and objects as they really are; highlight what is noticed from what the interpretation offers; creative imagination; easy to generate ideas; refining specific details to optimize and improve the original idea.

Sinelnikov and Kudryavtsev identified two universal creative abilities that developed in the process of historical development of society: realism of imagination and the ability to see the integrity of a picture before its component parts. Imaginative, objective grasping of some significant, general pattern or tendency for the formation of an integral object, before the individual has a clear idea of it and can introduce it into a system of clear categories of logic, is called realism of the imagination.

The creative abilities of an individual are a set of character traits and properties that characterize the level of their compliance with certain requirements of any type of educational and creative activity, which determine the degree of effectiveness of such activity.

Abilities must necessarily find support in natural personality qualities (skills). They are present in the process of constant personal improvement. Creativity alone cannot guarantee creative achievement. To achieve, you need a kind of “engine” that can put mental mechanisms into action. Creative success requires will, desire and motivation. Therefore, eight components of the creative abilities of subjects are distinguished: personality orientation and creative motivational activity; intellectual and logical abilities; intuitive abilities; ideological properties of the psyche, moral qualities that contribute to successful creative and educational activities; aesthetic qualities; communication skills; the individual’s ability to self-manage his educational and creative activities.

What do we call abilities?

This concept is not as clear as it seems, and therefore is explained by scientists in different ways.

Most precisely, this concept was formulated by B. M. Teplov, who proceeds from three ideas:

abilities are individual properties of a person and, from the point of view of psychology, are inherent in every person
but these are not all properties, but only those with the help of which success in life is achieved
Abilities do not include knowledge and skills that have already been accumulated by a person.

Abilities are manifested and preserved only in constant development, because, say, a musician ceases to practically maintain his form, his abilities are lost over time. A person develops and improves his abilities when he puts them into practice. It has been noted that to successfully complete a task, it is not enough to have any one ability; a combination of them is necessary, but it may happen that a less developed ability is compensated by another, more developed one.

Individual abilities of the individual

Individual abilities of a person are general abilities that ensure the success of mastering general knowledge and implementing various types of activities.

Each individual has a different “set” of individual abilities. Their combination is formed throughout life and determines the originality and uniqueness of the individual. Also, the success of any type of activity is ensured by the presence of various combinations of individual abilities that work towards the result of such activity.

In the process of activity, some abilities have the opportunity to be replaced by others, similar in properties and manifestations, but having differences in their origin. The success of similar types of activities can be ensured by different abilities, so the absence of any ability is compensated by another or a set of such abilities. Therefore, the subjectivity of a complex or combination of certain abilities that ensure the successful performance of work is called an individual style of activity.

Now modern psychologists identify such a concept as competence, which means integrative abilities aimed at achieving results. In other words, this is a necessary set of qualities that employers need.

Today, individual abilities of a person are considered in 2 aspects. One is based on the unity of activity and consciousness, which was formulated by Rubinstein. The second considers individual properties as the genesis of natural abilities, which are associated with the inclinations and typological and individual characteristics of the subject. Despite the existing differences in these approaches, they are connected by the fact that individual characteristics are discovered and formed in the real, practical social activity of the individual. Such skills are manifested in the subject’s performance, activity, and self-regulation of mental activity.

Activity is a parameter of individual characteristics; it is based on the speed of prognostic processes and the variability of the speed of mental processes. So, in turn, self-regulation is described by the influence of a combination of three circumstances: sensitivity, a specific rhythm of installation and plasticity.

Golubeva connects various types of activity with the predominance of one of the brain hemispheres. People with a dominant right hemisphere are characterized by high lability and activity of the nervous system, the formation of non-verbal cognitive processes. Such individuals study more successfully, solve assigned tasks well under conditions of lack of time, and prefer intensive forms of training. People with a predominant left hemisphere are characterized by weakness and inertia of the nervous system, they master humanitarian subjects more successfully, they can plan activities more successfully, and they have a more developed self-regulatory voluntary sphere. From this we can conclude that a person’s individual abilities have a relationship with his temperament. In addition to temperament, there is a certain relationship between the abilities and orientation of a person, his character.

Shadrikov believed that ability is a functional feature that manifests itself in the process of interaction and functioning of systems. For example, a knife can cut. It follows that the abilities themselves, as properties of an object, are determined by its structure and the properties of individual elements of the structure. In other words, individual mental ability is a property of the nervous system in which the function of reflecting the objective world is carried out. These include: the ability to perceive, feel, think, etc.

This approach of Shadrikov made it possible to find the correct relationship between abilities and inclinations. Since abilities are some properties of functional systems, therefore, the elements of such systems will be neural circuits and individual neurons that specialize according to their purpose. Those. properties of circuits and individual neurons are special inclinations.

Classification

There are a large number of abilities that differ from each other according to different criteria:

by origin: natural and social. The former are congenital or biological, the latter were acquired through the process of learning and socialization (what is it?);
by focus: general and special - having a wide scope of application or needed only for a specific type of activity or action, respectively;
according to the degree of development they distinguish: giftedness, talent, genius - from simple to complex;
according to development conditions: potential and actual. The first are those abilities that can develop under certain conditions. The second are available to the individual at the moment.

Special Abilities

These are opportunities for the development of individual mental processes and qualities of activity.

General Abilities

These are favorable opportunities for the development of human mental characteristics, which are equally important for many types of activities. Such general abilities are the ability to develop resourcefulness and intelligence in a person.

The totality of general special abilities characteristic of a particular person constitutes giftedness.

What are tendencies?

When a person develops an interest in a particular type of activity, and he strives to develop his inclinations in this direction, then this initial orientation of the individual is called an inclination.

In the process of mastering the chosen direction of development, an inclination can develop into an ability. If a person changes his interests in the process of mastering the chosen direction, then other inclinations may appear, which can be further developed to the corresponding abilities or remain without further development.

Definition and characteristics

Abilities are the psychological properties of a person that allow him to be successful in a particular activity. This is what you do best.

Abilities develop from inclinations - personal innate characteristics. For example, you have good hearing - this is the makings of it. If you develop them, you can become a good musician.

Abilities and inclinations are closely related, but different in nature. The inclinations are innate, that is, they are present in a person regardless of his will and desire. They just are.

But to turn them into abilities, you will have to practice a lot, which requires effort and time. A newborn baby cannot walk. It will take at least a year, many attempts will be made to get on his feet, thousands of falls will be experienced before he learns to control his body.

Abilities can be characterized as follows:

it is something individual - something that distinguishes us from others;
the success of an activity is determined by the level of development of abilities: the more they are developed, the more effect a person gets from using them in his business;
they are not skills, but determine the ease of their acquisition;
they are not inherited and do not arise independently;
if you do not develop your abilities, then they will gradually fade away to the level of inclinations.

Ability and Talent, or the Ten Thousand Hour Rule

A complex of diligently developed inclinations that have become abilities and led to success in some business is what is considered to be giftedness, as well as its highest levels - talent and genius. In this sense, an interesting observation was made by the popular Canadian journalist and writer M. Gladwell.

He came up with the “ten thousand hour rule”, which states that talent is 10,000 hours of work that allows you to turn from an amateur into a professional. This idea should take 10 years to complete if you do your chosen business for 3 hours every day.

Neurophysiologists interested in this theory conducted many experiments and came to the conclusion: 10,000 hours is exactly the period of time during which our brain is able to master any area of activity perfectly. This applies equally to playing the violin, doing math, or getting involved in criminal adventures.

What abilities are there?

It is customary to consider abilities obtained from nature, based on biological data and specific, arising under the influence of socio-historical conditions. Natural ones include memory, perception, thinking - inherent in all people and some animals. These abilities are laid down from birth and are biologically determined. They are based on innate inclinations and are formed with the acquisition of life experience. But man is a social being and therefore he has specific abilities. People possess them, because no one except them has speech and logical thinking.

Some abilities are classified as general, and others as special. Possession of speech and precise movements of the arms and legs, for example, is common to all people. Specific abilities are those that are manifested in certain types of activities: mathematics, music, painting, sports, etc.

If a person has developed abstract thinking, then we have the right to talk about his abilities for theoretical activity. Anyone who likes to perform specific actions, to do something with their own hands, has practical abilities. A person is easily given knowledge, he quickly learns new material, in this case we are talking about his ability to study, and the one who likes to create objects of spiritual culture, strives to discover or invent something - he is characterized by creative abilities.

There is a category of people who are able to quickly establish relationships with people, even influence them. Such abilities are manifested through the possession of speech, and this has largely helped man become a social being. Almost from birth, a person develops a need for emotional communication. This makes it possible to build behavior depending on the situation, to guess the intentions of other people. Mastering social norms helps you quickly establish relationships with other people. There are people who know how to convince others. But it often happens that a person has several abilities, and this combination is called giftedness. Possessing one ability does not guarantee complete success in life. The interaction of abilities, their mutual complementation of each other, give a high result.

Types of abilities

In psychology, there are two main types of abilities: special and general.

Special abilities are associated with specific activities. They manifest themselves in it and develop in it. If you have never picked up a pencil or brush and tried to draw anything, then you will never know if you have the ability to draw. More precisely, a predisposition to develop these abilities. Each special ability is a complex set of innate inclinations, qualities, and personality traits. While they play an important role in a given activity, they may have no significance for the development of another. For example, an ear for music will not help you learn to draw.
General abilities matter in many areas of activity. These primarily include cognitive abilities: development of attention, memory, imagination, intelligence. Among general abilities, the volitional sphere plays a significant role - qualities such as perseverance, determination, perseverance, and independence.

A high level of development of general abilities is called giftedness. A gifted person can master different types of activities, even without pronounced inclinations, but relying on a high level of intelligence, using figurative or abstract logical thinking and showing persistence.

And talent is a combination of giftedness and a certain special ability. If, with a high level of talent, there are many special abilities for various types of activities, then the person who possesses them is called a genius.

General abilities also include those that are required not in all types of activities, but in many, for example, organizational skills, communication, pedagogical.

But creative abilities, which have been talked about a lot lately, are not a special type of ability. In fact, there are no such abilities. And that's why.

What are the makings of a person?

A person is characterized by the possession of certain inclinations: a distinction is made between congenital and acquired. The development of a person’s abilities takes place in several stages, but only certain abilities reach a high level. To achieve it, you must have a certain initial level. The deposit becomes the basis from which further steps are taken. It also determines individual characteristics during the formation of special abilities. Individual abilities develop through the interaction of hereditary characteristics and the environment, and this manifests itself already at birth.

From childhood, a person is ingrained with such properties that with age can help or hinder the formation of specific abilities. At the same time, based on the research conducted, it has been proven that the human nervous system does not predetermine forms of behavior, and inclinations are not formed in it. A person’s nervous system determines his temperament; the choice of activity by each person depends on it.

The conducted research allows us to assert that inclinations are determined by the social environment. Training and upbringing fundamentally influence behavior and psychological state. Studies have been conducted to identify differences in abilities between men and women. In childhood, there was no significant difference in abilities. But with age, when life experience accumulates, when professional activity leaves its mark, the differences become more pronounced.

Men who engage in physical labor have more developed coordination of movements, they do not experience difficulties with orientation in space, etc. Women have better developed speech, faster speed of information perception, counting, etc. Thus, the social environment has a direct impact on the formation of abilities , complementing and developing biological ones.

Capabilities

Galton is considered the founder of the empirical approach to solving the problem of abilities, giftedness and talent.

It was he who proposed the main methods and techniques that researchers still use when studying human abilities.

But most importantly, his works crystallized the main tasks of differential psychology, psychodiagnostics and developmental psychology, which are still being solved by researchers today.

In Russian psychology, the work of S.L. was devoted to the problem of abilities. Rubinshteina, B.M. Teplova, K.K. Platonova, V.D. Shadrikova.

Abilities are

– a psychological property of a person, reflecting manifestations of such characteristics that allow him to successfully engage in and master one or more types of activity.

Special abilities

- these are opportunities for the development of individual mental processes and qualities of activity.

General Abilities

- these are favorable opportunities for the development of characteristics of the human psyche, which are equally important for many types of activities. Such general abilities are the ability to develop resourcefulness and intelligence in a person.

The totality of general special abilities characteristic of a particular person constitutes giftedness .

Definition of ability

Teplov made a significant contribution to the development of the general theory of abilities; he gave a definition of abilities. In his opinion, the concept of “ability” includes the following:

Firstly, abilities refer to individual psychological characteristics that distinguish one person from another.
Secondly, abilities are not called all individual characteristics, but only those that are related to the success of performing any activity or many activities.
Thirdly, the concept of “ability” is not limited to the knowledge, skills or abilities that have already been developed by a given person.

Child's abilities

The development of special abilities actively begins in preschool childhood and continues at school. Games develop motor, design, organizational, artistic and creative abilities.

Personal abilities

it is the result of learning. And the stronger the reinforcement, the faster the development.

The development of abilities occurs in stages.

Ability Structure

The following ability levels :

Reproductive, which provides a high ability to assimilate ready-made knowledge, master established patterns of activity and communication.
Creative, ensures the creation of something new and original.

Development of abilities

Rubinstein formulated the basic rule for the development of human abilities: the development of abilities occurs in a spiral: the realization of an opportunity, which represents an ability at one level, opens up opportunities for the further development of abilities at a higher level. A person's ability is determined by the diagnosis of new possibilities.

Ability Theories:

According to the structural approach, abilities are basic concepts, units of analysis, elements of structure. Inclinations determine the area of opportunities for developing abilities. They manifest themselves in activity. B.M. Teplov noted that there is a direct connection between inclinations (absolute ear for music) and subject specificity.
The functional approach (personal) considers ability as a functional formation that appeared in connection with the solution of a life personal problem.
For example, if the subject is motivated to become a musician, then hearing can be formed (pseudo-absolute pitch). Abilities are formed and developed in activity by transforming other natural inclinations.

Aptitude tests

Currently, there are no methods with which it would be possible to determine and measure abilities with a high degree of reliability, especially in the early stages of human development. However, researchers believe it is possible to diagnose abilities.

B.M. Teplov justified the possibility of measuring abilities by the fact that:

ability is an individual property that manifests itself differently in different people, it is a variable that can be measured;
ability is a property associated with the successful development and implementation of activities;
success can also be measured;
abilities are not identical to knowledge, skills and abilities.

Issues of measuring abilities are studied by differential psychology . The most famous are tests aimed at measuring mental talent, general abilities, and intelligence quotient.

The founder of this direction of psychological measurements is considered to be F. Galton (England). Tests were used for measurement - short tests to establish the presence and severity of a certain property.

In France, A. Binet attempted to identify children with different abilities for school learning. At the same time, A. Binet did not study intelligence, but looked for its indicators. The criterion of intelligence was the differences between one group of subjects and another. A.

Binet established groups of tasks that were successfully solved by children of a certain age, which allowed him to diagnose “mental” age.

Thus, the indicator of “mental” age was a set of tasks that are successfully completed by children of a certain chronological age.

List of abilities

academic
analytical
artistic
verbal
Gnostic
deductive
didactic
diplomatic
inventive
intellectual
research
cognitive
communicative
constructive
creative
linguistic
mathematical
mental
mnemonic
musical
oratorical
organizational
pedagogical
perceptual
educational
entrepreneurial
prognostic
psychophysical
sensory
suggestive
creative
telekinetic
technical
mental
managerial
physical
artistic
empathic
aesthetic

Movies about abilities

"August Rush" (2007)
"Drumroll" (2003)
"Billy Elliot" (2000)
"Shine" (1996)
"Vitus" 2006
"Game Selection" (1993)
"Ender's Game" (2013)
"The Trial of Akila" 2006
"Matilda" (1996)
“Thoughts on Freedom” 2005
"The Incredible Journey of Mr. Spivet" (2013)
"Gifted" 2021
"October Sky" (1999)
"Crossroads" (1986)
"The Tenenbaum Family"
"Glory" (2009)
"Super Max"
"Toast" 2010
"Good Will Hunting" (1997)

Source: https://psyvsem.ru/psihologiya-lichnosti/ponyatie-sposobnosti-ix-izmerenie.html

Natural and specific types of abilities

Abilities can be natural and specific.

Natural abilities or natural, are biologically determined. They are associated with innate inclinations, their formation occurs on the basis of these inclinations, and an important condition is the presence of life experience through learning mechanisms such as conditioned reflex connections.

Specific human abilities have a socio-historical origin and ensure life and social development.

Features of specific human abilities

In turn, specific human abilities are divided into general and special.

General specific abilities can be determined by a person’s success in a wide variety of activities and communication (level of intelligence, level of development of memory and speech, mental abilities).

Special specific abilities characterize success in specific types of activities and communication. Such types of activities require a special kind of inclinations and their development (literary and linguistic abilities, mathematical, artistic and creative, technical, sports abilities).

Other types of abilities

We can additionally distinguish other types of human abilities.

General ability refers to the ability to recognize patterns, and this includes general intelligence.

Modally, general abilities include verbal intelligence, spatial intelligence, technical-practical intelligence, numeric intelligence, it allows you to perform calculations.

Special abilities. With their help, it is easier and more successful to master certain special types of activities: artistic, technical, musical, pedagogical.

Particular abilities are responsible for the level of development of mental cognitive functions. Mental cognitive functions include memory, attention, perception, thinking, imagination.

Theoretical abilities determine a person’s propensity for abstract logical thinking.

Practical abilities underlie the propensity for concrete practical actions.

Gifted and versatile people have a combination of theoretical and practical abilities.

Learning abilities influence the successful implementation of pedagogical influence, the level of a person’s assimilation of knowledge, skills and abilities. Academic abilities also contribute to the formation of personality traits.

Creative abilities are associated with the success of creating works of material and spiritual culture, new ideas, discoveries, and inventions.

The manifestation of creative abilities to the highest degree is called genius. The manifestation of creative abilities in a specific activity is called talent.

Communication abilities and subject-activity abilities have a connection with the interaction of people and nature, technology, sign information, and artistic images. Need teacher help? Describe the task - and our experts will help you!

Abilities and inclinations

The general talent of a person is expressed in the ability to perform various types of activities and communication. This means that a person has a unity of common abilities. It determines the range of intellectual capabilities, the level and originality of the individual’s activity and communication.

Thus, we can conclude that abilities are the individual psychological characteristics of a person. They manifest themselves in activities and are considered a criterion for the success of the activity.

Although abilities cannot be reduced to skills or knowledge, many criteria for the successful acquisition of abilities, knowledge and skills depend on them.

According to research, abilities are lifelong learning. The process of individual life determines the development of lifelong formations, and environment and upbringing shape them.

The Soviet psychologist and founder of the school of differential psychology B. M. Teplov made a deep analysis of the problem of abilities. He developed a concept that spoke about the anatomical, physiological and functional characteristics of a person.

They can be considered innate if they create certain prerequisites for the development of abilities. These abilities are called inclinations.

Some congenital genetically anatomical and physiological characteristics of the nervous system are called inclinations. The inclinations form the individual natural prerequisites for the formation and development of abilities.

Abilities are distinguished by the dynamism of education. In the process, they can be formed and developed in a certain way by organized activity and communication. Abilities develop gradually.

The makings are characterized by ambiguity. They are just prerequisites for the development of abilities.

Those abilities that develop on the basis of inclinations can be conditioned by them, but are not predetermined in any way.

The makings themselves are not directed. Although they are able to influence the process of formation and development of abilities, but not in a decisive way.

Formed abilities, in turn, remain forever; their formation occurs in the process of activity and education. Different ways of developing abilities are determined by inclinations.

A person never realizes some inclinations; they do not turn into real abilities and achievements of a person.

The transformation of inclinations into abilities occurs through a person’s effort or due to some circumstances. A person may not even suspect that he has any inclinations.

Each ability has a structure. The structure has leading and auxiliary properties.

For example, the leading properties that are characteristic of people with literary abilities include features of creative imagination and thinking, vivid memory images, the development of aesthetic feelings, and a sense of language.

Leading mathematical abilities are characterized by the ability to generalize. People with mathematical abilities have flexible thought processes, they can easily move from forward to backward train of thought.

Ability Levels

Abilities are divided into several levels: reproductive and creative.

At the reproductive level, a high ability to assimilate ready-made knowledge is realized; a person at this stage masters established patterns of activity and communication.

On a creative level, something new and original is created. It is important to note that both levels have elements of each other.

A person can have different abilities, with one of them manifesting itself most significantly. On the other hand, different people have the same abilities, but they differ in their level of development.

Some foreign psychologists like R. Kettel, G. Eysenck, A. Binet, C. Spearman made attempts at the beginning of the 20th century. measure abilities.

To do this they used tests. But the most accurate measure of determining abilities is identifying the dynamics of success in the process of activity.

The success of a completed activity can be determined not by a specific and separate ability, but only by a combination of abilities, unique to each person.

Successful mastery of a particular activity can be achieved in various ways. For example, with insufficient development of one of the abilities, it can be compensated by increased development of another ability.

Rice. 1. The boundaries of our inclinations (according to Langmeyer)

Thanks to a special genetic predisposition and the specific structure of the brain, a person can have high talent and genius.

Soviet geneticist V.P. Efroimson argued that this genetic predisposition occurs in one person in a thousand, while it reaches the required level in only one person in a million, and in fact only one in ten million can become a genius.

It has also been noted that people with high talent also have a high probability of developing various diseases.

The life expectancy of such people is much shorter than that of people with ordinary abilities, gifted people are more likely to be depressed and have a higher risk of mental illness (seven times higher than normal).

Degrees of development of abilities

Let's take a closer look at the abilities of different levels of development:

Inclinations are not yet abilities, but their most initial level, which says that they exist at all. They represent a person's inclination towards a particular type of activity. For example, if you see that your child draws more often and better than other children, then perhaps this is a sign of artistic (creative) abilities.
Giftedness is the highest form of development of inclinations. For example, you are an excellent cook, but you are not a culinary professional.
Talent is a personal characteristic expressed in the ability to create something unique.
Genius is the “ceiling” of the development of the first three categories. “Brilliant people are brilliant in everything” - a person can easily perform any action.

The Birth of Abilities

Biological abilities inherent from birth are supplemented by social ones, characteristic only of humans, namely: painting pictures, composing poetry, speaking several languages, etc. It is argued that these abilities do not have a biological origin and depend on:

-social - cultural environment in which a person exists;

-what a person does and the actions in which a person takes part;

-the presence of people around a person who have knowledge and are able to pass it on;

- the presence of restrictions in which a person can or is forced to be.

These conditions contribute to the transformation of man into a social being. It is the social and cultural environment that contributes to the development of abilities. Parents include their children in the process of developing their abilities, but already, as adults, they independently acquire and develop other abilities, feeling the need for them. Parents or other adults provide targeted acquisition of abilities with the help of educational tools and provide educational influence. His existing inclinations and social environment ensure his achievement of success in life.

Natural gift from birth

Based on the opinion of psychologists, we can safely say that abilities and inclinations are closely related to each other. But in order to say more about the interaction of these personal qualities, it is necessary to understand what inclinations are and define the concept of “ability.”

An ability is a person’s personal predisposition that allows him to achieve certain successes and heights in his life. These are the personal qualities that we have been able to discover in ourselves with little to no effort, and we always get satisfaction from them.
Inclinations are those traits of our personality thanks to which we can develop our abilities. These skills are directly related to the nervous system and often have prerequisites in the anatomical or physiological properties of a person.

Now that the definition has been given, it is immediately clear that inclinations are the main guide in personality development. In addition, inclinations are responsible for the development of abilities in general, and under favorable conditions people reach a certain level in their lives. Moreover, these properties are acquired throughout a person’s life, regardless of whether he wanted to achieve a certain success.

Scientists are still debating whether the inclinations have innate roots or are acquired. However, although the anatomical roots of inclinations have not been proven, scientists argue that with the right approach in early childhood, competent upbringing and favorable living conditions, it is much easier for a person to adapt on the path to successful life.

If in childhood there are no conditions for development and parents do not help to discover the interests that the child shows, then most likely this person will not be able to find himself and develop a certain talent. Such an erroneous approach to education is often observed.

Parents ignore their child's natural inclinations, imposing their own unrealized dreams on him. Simply put, the child is forced to live the life of his parents, which they were unable to live. At the same time, he does not have the opportunity to realize his natural inclinations.

Conditions for the formation of abilities

The foundation for the emergence and development of abilities are the neuromuscular functional organs, which are formed in a child from birth to 6 years. In a healthy child, all physiological elements (hearing, speech, nervous system, thinking) allow the full development of both basic and special abilities.

When teaching children, an important condition for the effective development of abilities is their comprehensive development. Some abilities are closely related to others (speech is related to hearing, vision is related to thinking). The development of just one ability in isolation from others is unacceptable.

For the comprehensive development of a child it is necessary:

provide a creative approach to learning;
create interest in the subject of study;
create a positive emotional mood;
provide the necessary degree of complexity of tasks in relation to the abilities being mastered.

A creative approach to business forms independent thinking in a child, as a result of which he can:

find new solutions to assigned problems;
analyze your actions;
adjust them, improving your capabilities.

During training, it is necessary to ensure that the tasks assigned to the child are sufficiently difficult. They should not be too complex: if they are unfulfilled, this may hinder the development of appropriate abilities.

If the tasks and the activities corresponding to them are too simple, then this will also not lead to the proper development of abilities, but will only ensure their functioning at the current level.

In the process of activities that develop the child’s abilities, his emotional mood plays a significant role in the development of new skills and abilities.

When certain positive results are achieved in a child’s activities aimed at developing his specific abilities, it is necessary to take care of the emotional reinforcement of each of his successes, since failures also arise in the process of activity, which, against the backdrop of successes, should not cause a negative attitude of the child towards the activity he is performing.

Diagnostics

You can get information using tests. They can be general or highly specialized.

First, the individual must pass general tests so that the researcher understands which properties predominate in him. Testing requirements:

standardization - the procedure must be uniform in order for the results to be reliable;
reliability - questions must be tested in practice;
unbiased attitude towards the subject on the part of the researcher.

The results obtained are announced, and other tests are compiled on their basis.

When determining creative inclinations, it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of creativity:

semantic flexibility;
creative thinking;
originality of associations.

Basic signs of abilities

The category of abilities is of quite great interest. The structure of the concept includes three main features:

individual characteristics of a psychological nature, which serve as a distinctive feature that sets an individual apart from other people;
the presence of abilities determines success in performing an activity of a certain type (in some cases, in order to perform actions at the proper level, the presence, or, on the contrary, the absence, of certain characteristics is required);
These are not direct skills and abilities, but individual characteristics that determine their acquisition.

Development methods

Development of abilities in children:

A game. You need to play with the child so that he tries on the roles. In the future, he himself will begin to choose the characters whose roles he wants to play.
Individuality. The teacher helps the child choose a club that interests him, and enroll in a sports section if there is an urge. Parents should approve of his intentions and not interfere with the development of individuality.
Height. The child must take part in competitions, competitions, and performances related to his favorite activity. This way the baby will be able to feel the first notes of glory, the taste of victory, and the bitterness of defeat.
Mastery. It comes after training and knowledge of the sphere. If a child does not stop in the face of failures and difficulties, he can achieve great heights.

When identifying a direction of interest, it is necessary to regularly practice, try to acquire new knowledge and skills, so that the development is active and bears fruit.

Typology of people, depending on abilities

The structure of abilities largely determines the qualities of an individual, as well as his inclination to perform activities of a certain kind. Thus, it is customary to distinguish people of artistic and thinking types. If we talk about the first, then its representatives react very sharply to what is happening around them, which is accompanied by a surge of emotions and impressions. This often leads to the creation of something new. As for the thinking type, such people are more practical and less susceptible to external influences. They construct their reasoning logically and are also prone to constructing clear logical chains. It is worth noting that being an artistic type does not mean that a person definitely has creative abilities. The structure of abilities allows him to acquire certain skills, as well as to easily perform similar work. In addition, people of the artistic type do not lack mental resources at all, but they are not dominant. The division of personalities into artistic and thinking types is due to the fact that different people have more developed hemispheres. So, if the left predominates, then a person thinks symbolically, and if the right - figuratively.

Features of specific human abilities

In turn, specific human abilities are divided into general and special.

Social abilities of the individual

Social abilities of an individual are those properties of an individual that are acquired in the process of his development and meet the requirements of significant social activity. They change in the process of education and in accordance with existing social norms.

In the process of social communication, social properties are more expressed in conjunction with the cultural environment. One cannot be excluded from the other. Since it is socio-cultural qualities that play the main role in the formation of the subject as an individual.

In the processes of interpersonal interaction, socio-cultural value is lost, and social abilities cannot be fully demonstrated. The use of social abilities by an individual allows him to enrich his socio-cultural development and improve the culture of communication. Also, their use significantly affects the socialization of the subject.

So, the social abilities of an individual are the individual psychological characteristics of an individual that can allow him to live in society, among people, and are subjective circumstances of successful communicative interaction and relationships with them in any type of activity. They have a complex structure. The basis of such a structure is: communicative, social-moral, social-perceptual properties and ways of their manifestation in society.

Social-perceptual abilities are the individual psychological properties of an individual that arise in the process of his interaction and relationships with other individuals, providing an adequate reflection of their characteristics, behavior, states and relationships. This type of ability also includes emotional and perceptual ones.

Social-perceptual abilities constitute a complex set of communication abilities of an individual. Because it is communication properties that allow subjects to understand and feel another, to establish relationships and contacts, without which effective and complete interaction, communication and teamwork is impossible.

Concept and meaning

Abilities are:

Mental formations that continue to develop into old age. You cannot compare abilities with knowledge or compare these concepts, but they cannot exist without each other.
A system of mental properties, and not just the formation of the work of consciousness. The prerequisites for the emergence of abilities are the hereditary, physiological, and natural characteristics of the body. Conditions for development - education, training, influence of society. The dominant factors influencing the speed of skill development are personal interests, societal demands, and social values.
A complex of properties that no longer manifests itself in knowledge, skills or abilities, but in the speed of their acquisition and further development.

Thanks to evolution and the development of society, people have learned to compensate for the lack of some abilities with the high development of others.

There are no incapable people, each person has a number of talents and inclinations and capabilities that set him apart from the general crowd, but often a person is not aware of his hidden capabilities. Many teachers approach teaching children in a formulaic way, not taking into account that each child is individual. Because of this, many children feel like “black sheep” and try not to show their uniqueness, fearing condemnation from classmates and teachers. This leads to late identification of abilities.

Thanks to evolution and the development of society, people have learned to compensate for the lack of some abilities with the high development of others.

Moscow State University of Printing Arts

Chapter 6. ABILITIES

The concept of abilities. Inclinations as natural prerequisites for abilities. Classification of abilities. Giftedness. Talent. Genius

6.1.

The concept of abilities

A person’s successful activity is largely determined by the degree of development and formation of his abilities. A person’s abilities are not as obvious as, say, his external parameters, but we encounter them firsthand when several people who have equal training, conditions and the same desire to master some knowledge or skills achieve results of different levels in equal time.

Abilities are those individual psychological characteristics of a person that serve as a necessary condition for high-quality performance of a specific type of activity.

When we talk about abilities, we mean precisely the individual psychological characteristics of people. For example, all people are capable of walking upright and mastering speech, but we cannot attribute these functions to abilities themselves, since they do not have a psychological nature and are characterized by the sign of universality.

Abilities are most clearly manifested during training and retraining or in emergency situations; in normal situations, the success of activity depends on knowledge, skills, and level of training, and not on the abilities of the individual. Therefore, abilities are not reduced to knowledge, skills and abilities. So, a person can be very well technically trained and educated, but have little ability for any activity. For example, people who perform complex calculations in their heads phenomenally quickly often also have very average mathematical abilities.

Abilities are manifested not in knowledge, skills and abilities, but in the dynamics of their acquisition, i.e. in how quickly, easily and firmly they are absorbed by people, other things being equal. Abilities act only as some opportunity for acquiring knowledge and skills. Possibility turns into reality only in activities that cannot be carried out without the necessary abilities. For example, you cannot talk about a person’s ability to draw if he has not been taught to draw. Only through special training can one find out whether he has the ability to draw, how easily and quickly he learns working techniques, color relationships, and learns to see beauty in the world around him. It is known that when Surikov entered the Academy of Arts, the inspector, having looked at his drawings, declared that he should be prohibited from even walking past the Academy for such drawings. Based on the fact that the future great Russian artist did not have the necessary drawing skills, the inspector made a hasty conclusion about his complete unsuitability for painting.

If a person, other things being equal, cannot cope with the demands that an activity places on him, then this indicates that he lacks the appropriate abilities and means that, although the person will master the knowledge and skills necessary for this activity, this will require extreme effort from him with relatively modest results.

Abilities, like all other mental phenomena, have qualitative and quantitative certainty. Only by comparing qualitatively identical forms of activity can one assert that a particular person is more or less capable. Naturally, the comparison should be carried out only if equality of conditions is observed.

Abilities, in terms of their qualitative characteristics, represent a complex set of psychological properties of a person that ensure the success of activity. In other words, when qualitatively characterizing abilities, they take into account what a particular person is capable of, what abilities are involved in the process of activity as a prerequisite for its success. A qualitative characteristic of abilities allows a person to determine in which area of work he can achieve serious results. For example, a pronounced ability for pedagogical activity is determined by such psychological qualities as love for children and dedication to work, extensive knowledge and moral impeccability, the ability to quickly and accurately navigate educational tasks, pedagogical tact, initiative and sociability, endurance and self-control, etc. .

Finding out which specific psychological qualities meet the requirements of a given activity is closely related to a quantitative characteristic that answers the question to what extent these psychological qualities are developed in a person. To determine quantitative characteristics and measure abilities, various diagnostic techniques, tests, and trials are used. But, as a rule, they give an idea not about a person’s abilities, but about the presence of certain information, skills, and abilities. Therefore, at one time, L.S. Vygotsky proposed a method for determining the zone of proximal development to identify the level of a child’s abilities. The essence of this method is to assess the discrepancy between the results of solving a problem independently and solving the same problem with the help of an adult. If a child cannot solve a problem either independently or with the help of an adult, there is reason to say that the level of his abilities is not high enough. So, a quantitative description of abilities is possible through identifying the dynamics of a person’s success in the learning process.

6.2.

Inclinations as natural prerequisites for abilities

The question of the nature and origin of abilities is one of the most difficult in psychology. There are two diametrically opposed approaches to solving this issue.

Since the time of Plato, a concept has been developed that asserts the innateness (heredity) of abilities. As arguments, data are given on the early manifestation of abilities in the child. Thus, Mozart’s musical abilities were discovered at the age of three. Evidence of the heredity of abilities is also provided by the facts of their repetition in the descendants of outstanding people; examples of gifted families and entire dynasties are given. In the Bach family, musical abilities were first discovered in 1550, and dried up in 1800. In total, there were about sixty musicians in the Bach family, twenty of them outstanding, but J. S. Bach became especially famous.

Experimental studies on animals, in which only individuals that coped with the task more successfully than others were crossed, indicated the possibility of accumulating a genetic predisposition to successful learning.

From the point of view of another approach to the question of the origin of abilities, abilities are not something given by nature, innate, they are formed under the influence of the conditions of the social environment, training and upbringing. As arguments, facts of the massive development of certain special abilities, namely pitch hearing in the conditions of Russian and Vietnamese cultures, are cited here. Research by O.V. Ovchinnikova and Yu.B. Gippenreiter under the direction of A.N. Leontyev showed that pitch hearing, which forms the basis of musical hearing, is underdeveloped in one third of adult Russian subjects, while Vietnamese subjects showed one hundred percent musicality. And this is explained by the peculiarities of the Russian and Vietnamese languages: the first belongs to the “timbre” languages, and the second to the “tonal” languages. In the Vietnamese language, unlike Russian, the pitch of sound has the function of meaning differentiation. As a result, all Vietnamese children, mastering their native speech in early childhood, simultaneously develop their ear for music. As follows from this study, musical hearing can be formed under the influence of environmental conditions.

If the first concept about the innateness of abilities, in fact, ignores the need for intense activity to develop abilities, since they appeared on their own, then the second, on the contrary, argues that any activity can be learned even in the absence of desire and passion for it. Therefore, a more acceptable idea is that abilities are subject to the law of development, but their foundations are laid genetically. For example, people can, but animals cannot, master articulate speech and logical thinking. The limit here is set by the inclinations, which morphologically and genetically determine the maximum possibilities for improving the muscles of the larynx, the cerebral cortex, etc. Likewise, regarding abilities, psychology does not deny the innateness of the anatomical and psychophysiological characteristics of the human body, which may be conditions for the successful performance of any activity.

Morphological and functional features of the structure of the brain, sensory organs and movement, which act as natural prerequisites for the development of abilities, are called inclinations. In psychology, the catchphrase of Professor B.M. Teplov has become: “Ability is a deposit in development.” Thus, a person is born only with inclinations, these natural prerequisites for the development of abilities. Innate inclinations include, for example, such properties of the visual analyzer as accurate determination of proportions, color, etc., necessary for the successful development of artistic creativity, or the very subtle sensitivity of the olfactory analyzer, on the basis of which the professional abilities of perfumers-creators of new varieties of perfumes.

The mere presence of inclinations does not yet resolve the issue of the manifestation and development of abilities. For this to happen, it is necessary to engage in appropriate activities. Even the most pronounced inclinations can develop into abilities only through the process of work, learning, and play. Many outstanding people, about whom they are usually said to have talent from God, in their memoirs emphasized the leading importance of work in their creativity. Thus, Edison once said: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

With hard work and great desire, you can develop abilities even in cases where there seem to be no inclinations for a particular type of activity. As an example, let us turn to the life of the outstanding orator of antiquity, Demosthenes. When Demosthenes set himself the goal of becoming an orator, he was a frail young man with a weak voice and short, intermittent breathing, in addition, he lisped and burbled. All this contradicted the image of an orator that had developed in Ancient Greece, who was supposed to have a beautiful figure, stately appearance, artistic facial expressions and gestures, and a beautiful loud voice. But Demosthenes did not deviate from his goal and began to work hard on his appearance, voice, diction, and breathing. In front of the mirror, he studied acting, put pebbles in his mouth and so recited poems from memory, while running, without taking a breath, he uttered several poems or some long phrase. By persistently developing inclinations that were poorly expressed from birth, Demosthenes essentially created himself anew. This became possible due to the fact that the goal set by Demosthenes to become an orator, prompted by his ardent desire to influence a huge mass of people with words, turned into an independent motivating force, a motive.

Thus, increased motivation and the intense activity of the individual caused by it are necessary conditions for the development of abilities.

It is sometimes very difficult to discern the makings of a person. This is evidenced by numerous examples from the lives of outstanding people. For example, Newton was considered stupid at school, and his parents were forced to take him home due to his learning disability. F. Chaliapin was not accepted into the choir “due to his inability to sing.”

The extent to which inclinations manifest themselves depends on the conditions of individual personality development. Unfavorable conditions prevent the preparation of deposits. For example, an impoverished environment in which a child is deprived of a variety of impressions and the opportunity to actively act, reduces the possibility of developing his abilities. Frequent mental trauma inflicted on a child in the process of improperly organized education and upbringing also creates unfavorable conditions for the development of abilities. A factor inhibiting the development of abilities can be incorrect handling of motivation. Thus, excessive coercion to any type of activity usually causes negative experiences that make it difficult to demonstrate special abilities.

Inclinations that are not developed in time can atrophy. It is known that children who, due to certain circumstances, ended up in the den of beasts and were thus deprived of the opportunity to develop their inclinations and abilities, lost them forever.

A person can discover and develop his abilities for a certain type of activity thanks not only to hard work, but also to training methods. Improving the methods of forming relevant knowledge and skills will ultimately lead to the fact that such abilities as poetic, musical, artistic, organizational, etc., which are usually spoken of as “innate,” will develop in the same way as, say, , grammatical or arithmetic abilities. In other words, just as now no one doubts the fact that any normal child can be taught to read and write, so it will be common practice to teach all children to write poetry, compose music, draw, etc. And today a lot is already being done in this direction. For example, there are experimental schools in which absolutely non-musical children develop a musical ear through a system of individual training.

An important factor in the development of a person’s abilities are inclinations and interests. An inclination is a personality trait that manifests itself in the preferential choice of engaging in a particular activity. Thus, a child’s increased propensity for visual activities serves as an indicator of his awakening abilities for artistic creativity. As a rule, a penchant for painting is accompanied by an interest in color, the peculiarities of the shape of surrounding objects, in everything that is in one way or another connected with the fine arts, and in artistic creativity in general. However, the presence of interests and inclinations in itself does not always mean that a person has the appropriate abilities. But the fact that interests and inclinations, like other character traits, such as perseverance and determination, are conducive to the formation and development of abilities in the process of activity itself is an indisputable fact.

6.3.

Classification of abilities

A unified and generally accepted classification of abilities in psychology has not been developed. The principles of its construction are proposed to be very different. Thus, according to the main types of activity, engineering, scientific, economic and other abilities are distinguished. Differences associated with the peculiarities of the functioning of the sense organs serve as the basis for dividing abilities into olfactory, musical, etc. Based on the strength of balance and mobility of nervous processes, say, in the motor sphere, various sports abilities are distinguished. The most common is the division of abilities into general and special.

General abilities are personality traits that are, to one degree or another, necessary for a wide variety of activities. These properties have such very specific psychological manifestations as observation, constructive imagination, the ability to operate with abstract material, etc. General abilities influence the formation of new knowledge and skills.

Since all people differ in the qualitative and quantitative composition of their inclinations and the conditions of development, over time individual differences become significant, and along with general abilities, special abilities are distinguished. Special abilities usually include abilities that meet a narrower range of requirements for a given activity. These can be psychomotor, sensory, mnemonic, intellectual and other abilities.

With the beginning of vocational training, new personality structures are formed, which are called professional abilities. Typically, professional abilities are not identified by psychologists as a separate group, but are considered as a type of special ability. But unlike special ones, professional abilities are formed at a much later age. In addition, they closely interact with inclinations: at critical moments in his professional activity, a person mobilizes all the resources of his psyche, including inclinations. This is not typical for amateur activities. As new professions are mastered, new professional abilities are formed, often in a completely different area. A person can be an excellent manager, journalist and writer at the same time and work professionally in all these areas.

The abilities, talent, vocal, auditory or visual exclusivity of the individual find their expression primarily in creativity. According to the remarkable Russian thinker S. Frank, every person, at least to a small extent, is a creator: his work always, even to a minimal extent, has a moment of creativity. If a craftsman works with love and taste, puts his personality into his work, then he, in fact, performs a creative act. In this sense, the difference between a craftsman and an artist is relative. Even the most ordinary person, in addition to simply performing his duties, brings into his work an element of flair, improvisation and, realizing his abilities, copes with an unforeseen situation in some new, unprecedented way for him.

The most typical example of creativity is artistic creativity. A person capable of artistic creativity has a number of developed spiritual and mental characteristics. American psychologist D. Gilford notes six such inclinations of a capable artist: fluency of thinking, associativity, expressiveness, the ability to switch from one class of objects to another, adaptive flexibility or originality, the ability to give the artistic form the necessary outlines.

Many people engage in artistic activity in one form or another at one time or another in their lives with greater or lesser success. However, only artistic abilities ensure the creation of artistic values of public interest.

There is a hierarchy of degrees that characterize a person’s predisposition to creativity: ability - giftedness - talent - genius.

A person who is on a higher rung of this creative ladder retains those positive qualities that are inherent in those who are located on its lower steps, but must certainly have a number of additional high virtues.

6.4.

Giftedness

Usually the concept of “giftedness” is used to characterize children, since the child’s activities are characterized by very relative success, independence and originality.

Giftedness is defined as a set of natural inclinations that serve as one of the conditions for the formation of abilities.

Psychological analysis of giftedness allows us to identify the general structure of abilities, consisting of such mental qualities that provide the opportunity to carry out a wide range of activities at the highest level. A study of children with pronounced talent for various types of activities showed that the following abilities are manifested in the vast majority of highly gifted children. Firstly, it is attentiveness, composure, constant readiness for hard work. Secondly, readiness to work develops into diligence, into an irrepressible need to work. Thirdly, this is high productivity of mental activity, which is expressed in the speed of thought processes, systematicity of the mind, and increased ability to analyze and generalize.

Observations of gifted children indicate that they exhibit a strong desire to engage in activities for which they are capable. They can literally spend hours every day doing something that interests them, without getting tired and without straining at all. For them this is both work and play. All their interests, experiences, searches, questions are concentrated around these activities. Yu.B. Gippenreiter talks about a boy who, at the age of three and a half, became interested in numbers. He spent many days at the typewriter, typing sequentially the natural numbers from 1 to 2000. Very soon he mastered the operations of addition and subtraction. The characters in his imaginary games were numbers, many of which had their own special character and behavior. He himself discovered negative numbers and the operation of multiplication.

The general abilities that form the structure of mental giftedness are supplemented by a number of abilities that meet the requirements of specific activities, which can only be carried out if the appropriate abilities are present. For example, artistic talent presupposes acute attention to life, the ability to select objects of attention, consolidate these impressions in memory, extract them from memory and include them in a rich system of associations and connections dictated by the creative imagination. Specifically, if a child is interested in literary creativity, then his literary talent will be characterized by such specific abilities as a high level of aesthetic feelings, the presence of vivid visual memory images, a sense of language, rich imagination, deep interest in the psychology of people, and the need for self-expression.

Domestic psychology proceeds from the fact that targeted training and education have a fairly strong influence on the development and formation of giftedness. In Western psychology, on the contrary, the concept has become widespread, according to which giftedness has a predetermined character. The authors of this concept believe that mental talent depends on personality genes and is only to a small extent susceptible to the influence of environment and upbringing. They argue that mental aptitude can be measured. Quantitative measurement is made using so-called tests. In terms of content, mental aptitude tests consist of tasks of varying degrees of complexity that do not depend on the experience and knowledge of the test subject and are verbal tests or various “puzzles”. The success of solving problems is calculated in the sum of points or points that each subject scored in a set time, and the coefficient of mental giftedness is determined. It is expressed as a percentage:

where IQ is the coefficient of mental giftedness, and mental age is determined by the average score.

For example, as a result of testing, two children of ten and a half and fourteen years old scored the same amount of points corresponding to the mental age of eleven and a half years. Then the coefficient of their mental talent is equal to:

The coefficient of mental giftedness is declared constant. Having established it at an early age, it determines a person’s ability to succeed in learning and practical activities for the rest of his life.

So, depending on the coefficient of mental giftedness, the most capable children are selected for education in specialized, privileged schools and higher educational institutions. In reality, this coefficient does not reveal the giftedness of children, but only the presence of certain information, skills and abilities.

6.5.

Talent

A person, as an unconditionally unique, unique and unrepeatable personality, in the process of creative activity, scientific, technical or artistic, expresses first of all his subjective experiences. A talented person, trying to express himself, at the same time brings something objective, universal to his creativity. Moreover, this is not done intentionally, but is born out of inspiration.

Inspiration is a specifically creative state of clarity of thought, the intensity of its work, the richness and speed of associations, heightened virtuosity in the sense of form, and deep insight into the essence of life's problems. Goethe said that there are moments when the scales seem to fall from our eyes, and the world suddenly appears naked to our senses, in its pristine pristineness, brightness and unusualness. Such moments can cause, he wrote, a special kind of eerie experience, reaching the point of fear. But most often, an “active pimp” comes to the rescue - reason, which quickly translates everything into ordinary cliches and patterns.

Inspiration gives rise to extraordinary creative energy and makes the creative process especially fruitful. Since ancient times, the image of inspiration has been the winged horse - Pegasus.

Thanks to inspiration, talent generates values that have enduring national and sometimes universal significance, while a gifted person creates values that have lasting significance for a particular society, albeit for a significant period of its development.

Science comprehensively explores the psychological aspects of human activity, including creativity, but nevertheless, today we can agree with the words of A.S. Pushkin that “every talent is inexplicable. How does a sculptor see Jupiter in a piece of Carrara marble and bring it to light, crushing its shell with a chisel and hammer? Why does the thought come out of the poet’s head already armed with four rhymes, measured in slender, monotonous feet? “So no one except the improviser himself can understand this speed of impressions, this close connection between his own inspiration and alien external will...”

In psychology, talent is defined as a favorable combination and interaction of abilities for a particular activity, ensuring the success of the creative performance of this activity.

The abilities that make up talent are not identical, since the structure of talent is determined by the nature of the requirements that a specific type of creative activity places on an individual. Therefore, the combination of mental qualities of the personality of a talented commander will be different than that of a talented architect.

Like abilities, talent is only an opportunity to achieve success in creativity. Ultimately, the acquisition of high skill in creativity depends on the historical conditions of human existence, and history, especially the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, provides confirmation of this. As N.A. Berdyaev wrote: “The Middle Ages, having concentrated and disciplined the spiritual forces of man, at the same time connected them. It kept them subordinate to the spiritual center; it centralized all human culture. This subordination was present in the entire structure of medieval culture. At the dawn of modern times, re-centralization took place and human creative powers were released. And so the effervescent time of these creative forces created what we call the Renaissance... This historical period stands under the sign of the release of human creative forces, spiritual decentralization, separation from the spiritual center, differentiation of all spheres of social and cultural life, when all areas of culture become autonomous. Science, art, public life, economic life, the entire public and all culture are autonomous.”

At the same time, human history is replete with examples indicating the poor adaptability of the social structure of a particular society to reliably support creativity and high spiritual activity. There are often serious discrepancies between society and a talented individual, and the artist is tempted to leave the world of officialdom into the solitude of free creativity. Examples of such solitude can be the flight of young Goethe to Italy, where he created “Roman Elegies”, Pushkin’s Boldino Autumn, N.K. Roerich’s departure to the Kullu Valley, Gauguin’s flight to Tahiti, etc.

Talent as a potential opportunity to create significant values in science, art, and social life, which can be realized in the products of the material and spiritual culture of society under appropriate social conditions, also requires a lot of creative, hard work. People whose talent was undeniable in the eyes of all mankind always worked hard. Emphasizing the leading importance of labor in his work, Goethe, for example, wrote: “I am considered the darling of fate. I don’t want to complain and criticize my lot. But in reality there was nothing in my life except hard work, and I can say now, at 75 years old, that in my entire life I have not lived even four weeks to my satisfaction. It was as if I was constantly dragging a stone up the mountain, which rolled down again, and I had to drag it up again.”

In the process of work, one accumulates life experience, the necessary set of skills and abilities, without which no creative success, the highest skill, or worldwide fame are possible. Mastery as a manifestation of an individual’s talent in activity is revealed not only in the sum of the relevant skills and abilities, but also in psychological readiness for the qualified implementation of any labor operations that will be necessary for a creative solution to the problem that has arisen.

6.6.

Genius

Genius is a holistic quality of the human personality. As N.A. Berdyaev wrote, “a man’s love for a woman, a mother for a child can be genius, caring for others can be genius, people’s inner intuition, not expressed in any products, can be genius, torment over the question of meaning can be genius life, searching for the truth of life. A saint may be characterized by genius in self-creativity, in transforming himself into a perfect, radiant creature, although he may not create any products.”

In other words, a person’s genius is manifested in the strength of his perception of the world and the depth of his influence on other people and is not necessarily expressed in the talent to write wonderful pictures or original scientific treatises, to be a great commander or an outstanding actor.

Thus, the concepts of “genius” and “genius” are not identical. Genius is born from the combination of the genius nature of the human person with talent. Genius creates the highest universal values that are ahead of the historical era and have global significance for all times. For example, geniuses in art were Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Rembrandt, I. Repin, V. Surikov and others. Moreover, the genius of Leonardo da Vinci extended not only to fine art, but also to many other types of art and science. Thus, he created drawings and designs for flying projectiles, which in general terms anticipated modern aircraft and missiles, developed designs for moving guns, reminiscent of modern tanks, etc. Michelangelo was also not only a wonderful painter, but also an outstanding sculptor and poet. Rembrandt, with stunning psychological depth, revealed the spiritual qualities of his contemporaries in the gallery of portraits, and showed a whole world of complex human relationships in his famous paintings. I. Repin, in such internationally recognized films as “The Cossacks Write a Letter to the Turkish Sultan”, “Barge Haulers on the Volga”, “They Didn’t Wait”, etc., expressively revealed the most natural phenomena in the social life of Russia, gave a deep psychological analysis of the people he depicted .

It is known that works of any art, in contrast to scientifically proven truths or proven technical inventions, are always open to changing assessments and interpretations of the perceiver depending on his social and personal experience. The prestige of this or that author, who in the old days was considered a genius, may be destroyed, and, conversely, an artist who seemed incomprehensible and unworthy of attention to his contemporaries may be raised from oblivion. Thus, in our time of return to the traditional spiritual values of Russian culture, the work of the “agitator, loudmouth, leader” V. Mayakovsky sounds much less convincing than the poems of S. Yesenin, once banned and despised by the revolutionary proletarian. Or the paintings of the Dutch painter Jeronimus Bosch, semi-delirious for contemporaries, whimsically combining elements of science fiction, social satire and realistic observations of people’s lives in combination with high artistic technique, turned out to be unexpectedly prophetic in our era of social, atomic, biological and other scientific experiments that determine the face of this "mad, mad, mad" world.

Great works of art created by geniuses remain timeless and relatively independent of changing group and national tastes. They are distinguished by the fact that, in the face of eternity, they continue to exert a powerful influence on the hearts and souls of new generations, remaining unsurpassed role models. They remain great because they are accessible and understandable to everyone.

6.7.

Summary

Individual psychological characteristics of a person are manifested in her abilities. Abilities have a socio-historical essence, but they carry natural prerequisites for development in the form of inclinations that people are endowed with from birth. The extent to which the deposit will be completed depends on the conditions of individual growth. Inclinations determine the development of a person’s abilities, but do not predetermine them.

The inclinations are multi-valued and can be realized in various types of abilities. Every ability is the ability to perform some kind of activity. In the process of activity, the relationship between abilities and knowledge, abilities, and skills is important. An integral component of abilities is increased motivation.

The degree of a person’s predisposition to a particular type of activity is characterized by such psychological characteristics of the individual as ability, giftedness, talent, genius.

6.8.

Self-test questions

What are abilities?
Are abilities innate?
How do abilities and inclinations relate to each other?
What is the connection between abilities and knowledge, abilities, and skills?
What is the relationship between systematic work and the development of abilities?
What is the structure of abilities?
What are the relationships between inclinations, interests and abilities?
What is giftedness, talent and genius?

Characteristic signs

There are a number of characteristic signs of abilities that will help distinguish them from inclinations, inclinations and talents:

willingness to overcome problems and obstacles on the way to the intended result;
high learning speed;
a unique approach to doing things;
obtaining original results;
motivation for the chosen activity;
a large reserve of energy to complete assigned tasks - an enthusiastic person does not feel tired.

Other important skills

All applicants are now subject to the same requirements: “We need hard skills / soft skills !” – and put forward a huge list of personality traits and patterns of behavior in the company. But a great specialist must have not only “hard” and “soft” skills, but also practical and professional ones, and not forget to remain a Human.

Example of hard skills and soft skills

Above I described the most important skills for a person, but there are also skills that people also really need. They were not included in the top, but are also necessary for a person to have a productive social life:

Stress resistance - here it is important that a person controls his emotions in force majeure circumstances and finds quick solutions. This skill helps you finish what you start, no matter how difficult it may be. Stress-resistant people are valued at any job and in the family.
The development of charisma is the brightness of a personality that can evoke emotions in others. This skill allows you to infect everyone with positivity, love for life, and establish contacts with any people. The behavior of these people reminds me of a pulsation - life pulsates in them, they are like fireworks.
Confident work on a PC - now any enterprise cannot do without this skill. All processes are so computerized that without confident work on a PC, you will either pay a lot of money to specialists, or spend weeks doing the amount that can be done in a day. This skill saves time and money.
A healthy lifestyle is a personal matter, whether to lead a healthy lifestyle or not, but without this skill you will quickly die. A healthy lifestyle involves not only proper nutrition, but also taking care of your physical fitness (exercise, training) and psychological comfort. In fact, this is a big topic that can be discussed for a long time, the main thing is to take care of yourself.
The ability to defend your point of view is a good skill; it helps you not to get lost among the opinions of others and to be respected in society. To defend your opinion means to be able to formulate it and present reinforced concrete arguments. This skill is important for absolutely everyone, since in any dispute the one with the most arguments wins.
The ability to abstract yourself and rest on time is a skill to “forget everything” in time in order to preserve your health and nervous system. They say that in order to work well, you need to rest well - that’s the point! When the brain is clean and bright, strength has accumulated, then all situations are perceived differently and you want to live!
The ability to motivate yourself and others is a skill a bit like developing charisma, but the goal is important here. This skill is very important when working in a team. When a person finds the right words, takes specific actions, stimulates those around him to work together and achieve results.
The ability to work in a team - and this skill is often included in different structures of a person’s skills, since it is important for all of us to learn this. It develops in a person sociability, the ability to establish good relationships with everyone, lack of conflict and other important and valuable qualities.
Fixation of attention - for a modern person, a big problem and happiness at the same time is a huge flow of information. To achieve results in any area, it is important to be able to focus on what is important and necessary. Concentration is the most important skill for each of us.
Conducting constructive negotiations - a cultured person is visible by the nature of communication and the ability to negotiate without conflicts. If you master the rules of constructive negotiations and develop this skill in yourself, you will be worth nothing in the workplace!
The ability to analyze - it is important not only to accept the information received by you, but also to analyze it. Analysis will help you draw the right conclusions and make the right decisions.
The skill of constantly developing and improving is a skill of rich people who do not waste time for nothing, but are constantly developing, trying new things, improving the skills that they already have. This is the constant dynamics of a person, constant demands on himself, a kind of bar that gradually rises, making a person more and more successful.
The skill of reading people (empathy) is a skill that helps you learn basic information about a person within a few minutes of communication with him. This is empathy, that is, an understanding of what a person is feeling now, what his emotional state is. A very useful skill, especially if you want to check whether you can trust your interlocutor or not.